Camper&#39;s bed



R. wlLES.

CAMPERS BED.

APRLiCATION FILED MAY 7,'1915.

Patentd Dec. 27

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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R. WILES.

i cAmPE's BED.

APPLICATION FILED MA'YI. 1915.

Patented 1560.27', 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.` v

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RUSSELL Writes, or nlvnnsinn, unir-rois.

car/rams BED.

. Laoiae.

' Application led May 7,

useful improvements in a campers bed, vand is fully described and explained in lthe specificationl and showny in the accompanying n edge of the hammock the strip 18iis omitted, Tand a wide strip19 (Fig. 7) is secured to the tent in its place. The' hammock and tent areV "provided with .tapes 2O toV be 'tiedtog'ether drawings, in which: Y

Figure 1' is aside elevation of the improved bed; Fig. 2is a top plan; Fig. 3 is a section on the line ,3 of Fig. 1;,Fig. 4 is a top plan showing the cross ribs; Fig. 5is a sec tion on the line 5 of Fig. 4; Figs-6 and 7 are detailed sections on opposite sides of the bed on the samepla'ne asl Fig. 3, andFig. 8 is a detailed section on the line 8 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawings, it will be seen that the bed consists of two principal parts, a'hammock, and a tent shelter thereover and secured thereto. The hammock has a central web 9 of strong cloth, hemmedat the ends to receive spreaders 10, preferably of bamboo, and is provided with supporting cords 11 at itsitwo ends, the cords radiating from rings 12 at .the ends of the hammock, to whichare also secure-d suspending ropes 13( .The triangular end spaces `formed by the cords 11 are covered with' mosquito netting or'bobbinet 14 so as to permit ventilation from below evenwhen thel state. of the weather compels the' closing ofthe tent ventilators or'windOWS.'

The'tent part is of lthewedge or 057139 with rope ridge but somewhat modified from the common form.Y Thel tent ridge rope is shown atl, the tent sides being indicated by 16. On thetop of the tent are cross ribs 17 of iiexible wire. These operate to takeup any'slack inthe 'sides so' as to give increased' head room and provide a very desirable general elasticity preventing too greatstrain on the tent sides. The ridge-` stops above the hammock spreaders and the ends are brought downfin pointed form to the outer cords of the hammock. e l 1 e The tent sides hang below'the outer edges of the hammock to shed waterentirely clear thereof, and to prevent the bottom of the hammock from getting wet. The tent is Ysecured to the hammock by providing on the inner side of the tent walls a strip of fabric, 18, sewed 011 its median line to the tent so as Specification of Letters Patent.

1915. serial 1ra-26,447."

to afford two long flapsbetween which the hammock edge 'is received, ya lacing cord beinggpassed through to make all fast. This strip 18V o es entirely aroundgthe inside of the tent except on a part ofone side), and is laced over the outer cords at the ends, the netting 14 being doubled overthe cords 11 before lacing the tent part so that the netting is simply and firmly secured, and yet. can be easily renewed whenl desired.v

For a space ofk perhaps five feet along one 'Patented nec. amasar.

under the'strip'19, Which' isthen laidilat in the hammock, and extends farfenoughin 4to jmake afly-proof edge.V In practice this` strip 19 is about nine inches :wide andtueks under thel bedding vso asto make tightness on this n edge certain. The use`r of course,enters `the structure through the opening'vaforded betweenhammock and tent .when these'tapesl asv - The bea it` provided with its und@ bei ding beneath the,weight-supporting!web 9. The arrangement-'is shown in the' sectional views (Figs. V3, 6, "7 rand 8),' from'which'it willv be seen that the main' hammock web 9 khas below it. alooser piece, 21?*,1and between the two is, an insulating medium' l22.,` This may bel woolfor down, 'and it ,may be removfable or notas is preferred; 'If made removable *the web 21aV is loose along one'edgeand Y lacesf with'ith'ehammock 'edge between'fth'e edgesof the strip 16 (Figxf). 'But the in-y sulation may simply 'be' 'loosely quilted in place between the webs 91 and 21a. Gneypoint,

however, is important." TheA web' 9f carries the weight of the occupant,fno substantial partthereof being carried by the web l218L :or

' theinsulatinfr medium. .Inthis way the insulatingjjmeium is notmaterially "coni-` pressed and a.very flight fluffy material-may be employed, a material -which' inA theusame quantity is ordinarily useless beneath-the sleeper by reason of the air being squeezed out of it. It is well understood by campers that down and light wool quilts are very warm` over the sleeper but arel ordinarily `useless beneath him. In the presentbed 'provement on all stretcher-type canvas- Vwhere in a minute or two.

beds since the heavy taut canvas makes the use of blanket pins very difficult, while the loose flap or strip greatly facilitates their use.

The present bed has many advantages. It is warm, dry and can be set upalmost any- It has been repeatedly used on ground where no other shel* ter could possibly have been erected. It is particularly adapted for river cruising because it can be'used on steeply inclined banks, and even in dense thickets a space big enough to hang it can be found, or cleared in a short time. It rolls up in a compact bundle with all its bedding which is thus kept dry during the day. It can be made very light, far lighter -than any other combination of tent and soft bed suitable for use on damp or rough groundwithout gathering browse or making other special preparations. Bv

way of illustration, a bed ofthe type deu-v scribed and made with no particular attention to saving weight, weighs nine pounds, exclusive of .bedding and insulation. By using aeroplane cloth for the hammock and the modern lighttent fabrics for the tent,

a weight approximating five pounds is attainable. The insulation under the hammock will be lighter than any of similar warmth used with any other form of bed, the blankets may be slightly lighter because the hammock wraps partly up the sides of the sleeper and thus narrov7 blankets will be satisfactory. The only beds and shelters which can give the same comfort weighv much more. nary army cot with tent attached weighs twenty pounds, without bedding, while any shelter tent and pnemnatic bed will weigh at least ten pounds, and both these combinations involve more work in erecting and require more weight in bedding than does the present bed. i

There are some further operative points of advantage brought about by the combination of the tent and hammock broadly considered. The hammock is, of course, flexible, and being under weight, is elastic inits action against strains. It thus affords For example, the ordi- A incitar;

Vdress and undress in the hammock without the least inconvenience, while were the tent removed and the hammock stretched as tight as it is normally used in the present device, thiswould require a good deal vof balancing, and would be much more dif- I realize that considerable variation is possible in the details of the construction herein shown, and I do not intend to limit myself thereto, except as pointed out in the following claims, in which it is my intention to claimV all the novelty inherent in the device as broadly as is permitted by the state of the art.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: l. A campers bed having, in combination, a hammock swingingly supported from its ends and comprising a central web, end attaching means and support-ing cords radiating from said attaching means to the central web to form a reticulatedtriangular end, a tent Vindependently supported above the hammock, secured to the sides of the hammock and eXtendnig only slightly therebelow, and a netting covering the reticulated triangular ends whereby ventilation is afforded from below when thetent is closed.

2. A campers bed having, in combination, a tent-covered hammock, and an insulating body loosely'held against the underside of the hammock and substantially uncompressed by the weight of the user.

3. A campersbed having, in combination, a fabric web arranged and adapted to carry the weight of the user and an insulating body loosely heldv against and beneath sai-d web so Aas to be substantially uncompressed by the weight of the user.Y Y

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and aiXed myv vseal this 5th day of May, A. D. 1915.

Bussum; winne.

In presence of- A. C. FiscHER, D. C. THoRsEN.

`to the lower edge of the tent a very elastic 

